County Route 55 (Monmouth County, New Jersey)
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| County Route 55 |
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| Length: | 3.5 mi (5.6 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1980 | ||||||||
| South end: | Willowbrook Road in Freehold Twp | ||||||||
| Major junctions: |
  NJ 33 Bus in Freehold Twp CR 537 in Freehold Twp CR 46 in Freehold Twp |
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| North end: |  NJ 79 in Freehold Twp |
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County Route 55 is a county highway in Monmouth County, New Jersey, locally known as Kozloski Road and Hall's Mill Road.
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[edit] Route Description
The highway extends 3.5 miles from Willowbrook Road (just north of Route 33) in Freehold Township north to Marlboro Road (Route 79) in East Freehold. CR 55 is the north-south bypass of Freehold and U.S. Route 9. Recent construction extended CR 55's original 2.08 length further north by about 1.5 miles to meet Route 79. The four-lane highway has an overpass that allows for a U-turn and left turn from Colts Neck Road (CR 537) westbound. South of CR 537, the highway is dualized with a grassy median and very limited driveways. As of late May 2006 the overpass with CR 55 and Route 33 Business has been fully paved, signed, landscaped, and opened to drivers. The overpass eliminates the traffic light along the CR 55 alignment and allows for free flow of traffic.
[edit] History
Construction began in the summer of 1978 on what was then known as the "East Freehold Road Realignment", which was to both serve as a bypass route for Freehold and as access to several county facilities in the area. Sharp curves were eliminated, and residential areas such as Weaverville were bypassed. On March 8, 1980, the Board of Chosen Freeholders officially took over East Freehold Road and Hall's Mill Road from CR 537 to Willowbrook Road. Shortly thereafter it was renamed north of the present Route 33 Business in memory of the late Assemblyman Walter J. Kozloski (D-Monmouth). Kozloski Road has since been extended north to Route 79.
Plans are in place to reconstruct Halls Mill Road from south of the Route 33 Bypass to CR 524. The entire highway is an important commuter connection to the outer points of Freehold and between Route 33 and CR 537.
The road was the site of a major accident that took place on January 10, 2007, and claimed the lives of four people. The accident gained major regional media attention.[1] The impact on the town was great and with other numerous teenage accidents around the state of New Jersey, laws are being set up to be put into place to reduce the injuries and deaths of teenagers.
 A view of CR 55 northbound from the new overpass over Route 33 Business |
 Signage for CR 55 south on Route 33 Business west |
 Signage for CR 55 at County Route 46 |
 Signage for CR 55 on CR 46 east, between the old and new intersections |
 Signage for CR 55 on the access ramp to make a wide right turn or go under the expressway to make a U-turn |
